a. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to casket carriers, and, more particularly to a pivoting casket carrier for facilitating easy loading and unloading of caskets from a pivotable transport bed of a casket transport vehicle.
b. Description of Related Art
In the art, there presently exist a variety of devices for loading and unloading of caskets or other similar units from a transport bed of an automobile.
Known casket and related unit carriers are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,155,417, 3,757,972, 2,010,860, 1,242,221, 1,893,739 and 2,667,295, the respective disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference, and Japanese Publication No. 3-262739.
Of the aforementioned U.S. and Japanese Patents, U.S. Pat. No. 3,155,417 ('417 patent), discloses a locking mechanism for a casket table having a plurality of rollers for enabling smooth placement and removal of a casket from the carrier bed. As shown in FIG. 1 of the '417 patent, casket table 12 may be rotated along tracks 32 or 34 (shown in dotted lines in a transverse position) for enabling placement of a casket thereon. Once a casket is disposed on table 12, the table may be completely inserted into hearse 10, and thereafter, table 12 may be locked in place by means of locking mechanism 36 in the neutral position (shown in solid lines in FIG. 1). Although somewhat functional, the casket table of the '417 patent is problematic due to the relatively complicated pivotal and sliding operation of the table, as well as the complicated operation of the pivoting and locking mechanisms disclosed therein. Moreover, as readily evident, the provision of the tracks, as well as the numerous components required for adequate operation of the locking mechanism render the casket table of '417 patent susceptible to a variety of maintenance and reliability problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,972 ('972 patent), discloses a pivotable vehicle carrier assembly including a pivotable bed which is allowed to pivot by means of a plurality of ball bearings disposed in the bed frame structure (see FIG. 4). As discussed above for the '417 patent, the vehicle carrier assembly of the '972 patent is problematic due to the relatively complicated operation of the pivoting mechanism disclosed therein, which renders the carrier assembly of the '972 patent susceptible to a variety of maintenance and reliability problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,010,860 ('860 patent), discloses a pivotable casket carrier assembly including a pivotable bed which is allowed to pivot by means of a conventional pin-type pivot 21 (see FIG. 2), and positioned transversely for placement and removal of a casket by rotation of a worm gear/follower mechanism. As discussed above for the '417 and '972 patents, the pivotable casket carrier assembly of the '860 patent is problematic due to the relatively complicated pivotal and sliding operation of the table, as well as the complicated operation of the pivoting and locking mechanisms disclosed therein. Moreover, in virtually an identical manner as the '417 patent, the provision of the worm gear/follower mechanism renders the casket carrier of the '860 patent susceptible to a variety of maintenance and reliability problems.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 1,242,221 ('221 patent) discloses a pivotable casket carrier assembly including a pivotable bed which is allowed to pivot by means of a plurality of ball bearings disposed in the bed frame structure. Additionally, the '221 patent discloses a locking mechanism including a sliding locking bolt disposed in a keeper fixed on the carrier bed. As discussed above for the '417, '972 and '860 patents, the pivotable casket carrier assembly of the '221 patent is problematic due to the inadequate operation of the locking mechanism.
It would therefore be of benefit to provide a pivotable casket carrier which is simple in operation and requires minimal maintenance for adequate and continued operation. It would also be of benefit to provide a pivotable casket carrier which is robust and cost-effective in design, and which is simple and economical to manufacture.